Prioritise Spiritual Discipline

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)

It is easy to fill our day with activities, running from place to place and engaging ourselves with people and programmes. It is also possible to fill our days with nothing but simply lazing around as if God were transparent and dead. That is not what God has intended for our lives. He has created us in His image to have fellowship with Him. We are made to know Him and enjoy Him. He has given each of us gifts and talents to work with so that we can live this earthly life purposefully. Guided by His strength and wisdom, we can then reach our fullest potential in life according to His perfect will for us.

To achieve that, we need to do some things first – Surrender ourselves unreservedly to Him and spend time to seek His will for our lives through prayer. Study God’s Word together with fellow Christians and spur one other to pursue holiness, righteousness, and goodness. To that end, we need to prioritise these spiritual disciplines in our daily lives.

What does God say about this?

For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV)

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

Galatians 5:17 (NIV)

What does this mean for practical living?

We are probably very good in planning, organising, and prioritising tasks relating to our studies, job roles and social responsibilities. We do this because we can see the fruit of our labour in getting good grades, job promotions and satisfied customers. These are all well and good. We may even be disciplined to set aside an hour for exercise thrice a week. But what are we doing for our spiritual disciplines?
There are four important disciplines that we need to maintain if we want to live a victorious Christian life.

Imagine the four arms of the cross: Prayer (upward arm), Word (downward arm), Fellowship (right arm) and Evangelism (left arm). Each of these is critical in developing our spiritual strength and character in our walk with God. These four arms work like the four well-balanced spokes of a wheel to set us in a smooth rolling motion. Work these disciplines as priority activities into your daily and weekly life routines and experience the reality of God’s power and revelation in your life.

Reflect and respond to God’s Word

• How often do you talk with God in prayer? What are most of the conversations about?
• What tools and methods are you using to study His Word and fellowship with other Christians to edify one another?
• When was the last time you shared the gospel with someone and/or played a part in leading them to Christ?